Lifting or sling hook



W. J. OLIVER.

LIFTING 0R SLING HOOK.

APPLICATION mm APR.2. 1919.

0 r m M w 2 6 &w W m m J h w M [buy UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM JAMES OLIVER, OF CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND.

LIFTING OR SLING HOOK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 22 1920 Application filed April 2, 1919. Serial No. 286,987.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM JAMES OLIVER, subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Christchurch, in the Dominion of New Zealand, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lifting or Sling Hooks; and 1 do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the same. I

This invention has been devised in order to provide an improved." construction of sling hook used for lifting'ships. cargo and other goods from a crane orlike appliance and useful also for attachment to the falls used in the lowering of ships boats. The hook designed has for its primary object the provision of a construction-that will automatically release itself from the sling when the hook is relieved from the weight of the goods or article suspended thereon.-

the desired point and the suspension rope is slackened.

Combined with the hookare other means designed with the object of tipping an article suspended on the hook, after it has been released from the hook, and then lifting it up in the tipped position. This feature is particularly serviceable in the handling of coal and such articles, to provide for the basket in which the coal is placed, being lowered into the receptacle (such as a cart, ships hold or the like) and then automatically released from its suspension afterward tipped up and lifted back to be filled.

The invention consists broadly in constructing the sling hook of a suspension plate or frame that is attached to the lifting rope and is formed with a vertical slot extending up fromits bottom, and a hook proper that is pivoted in the frame so that it may swing in across the slot or may swing out therefrom and which hook is counterweighted beyond its pivot so that it is nor mally caused to swing out clear of the said slot. The pivot point of the hook is an ranged in the vertical line of the lifting rope so that when a sling has been passed up into the slot and the hook is turned in beneath such sling and the weight taken by the hook, the hook will be retained in the inward position bythe weight suspended i proved hook.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sketch illustrating the manner of using the hook to automatically release and tip a coal basket suspended thereon.

The suspension frame is formed by an eye shank A, adapted to receive the lifting rope, and a plate B made in one therewith, or preferably two plates B, as shown in the drawings, extending parallel to one another downward from the bottom of the shank A.

hcse plates B, when two are used, are arranged at the required'distance apart to permit of the hook C being placed in between them and pivoted, as at 'C, to swing to and fro in a free manner. When the device is formed with a single plate, the hook is pivoted against one of its faces so that it may swing across it.

Each plate is formed with the slot E extending upward from its bottom edge in a line in the same plane as the shank A and lifting rope F, and this slot is made of such a width as to be adapted to receive the suspens on sling of the weight to be lifted. The slots in the two plates are coincident with one another.

The pivot pin C of the hook is arranged. in the same vertical plane as the lifting rope and'thehook is so shaped that it may swing across the slots E with its p )int well beyond the far side of the slots, or it may swing out to clear such slots. It is-provided with an arm extension G beyond its pivot point and this arm is weighted to such an extent as to overcome the weight of the hook and thus when thedevice is suspended for the hook to be swung out clear of the slots. When the hook is turned in to engage beneath a e the hook and will be prevented'from slipping off it by its engagement between the slot sides, so long as the weight is suspended. When the weight is eased by lowering it on to a support, then the strain on the hook is relieved so that the weighted arm G will fall and swing the hook out from beneath the sling and thus free the sling from the device.

In order that any accidental release of the sling from the hook may be prevented, such as for instance as might be likely to occur should a suspended sling of goods in its transfer from one point to another, engage or momentarily rest upon any fixture in its path, the arm G may be retained in the raised position until such time as the lifting rope F has been fully slackened off, by means of a cord H that is made fast to the end of such arm and to a suitable point on the lifting rope. This cord is made of such a length as to be fully extended when the lifting rope is straight and in this extended condition to hold the arm up. Thus when the lifting rope slackens, the cord H will slacken also and permit the arm to fall and the hook to swing out.

If it is desired that the device may be capable of use as a fixed hook, provision may be made for locking the hook in its turned in position. Means for this purpose consist in a pawl J that is pivoted to the frame member 13 and dro as into a notch J formed in the edge of the 00k, and thus holds the hook from swinging out. This pawl and the notch are situated on the other side of the pivot C to that upon which the arm G extends.

The frame member or members B may be provided with an eye K fixed on each side thereof at any convenient points clear of the working of the hook C. These eyes maybe used for the attachment of the ends of ropes M (Fig. 8) the other ends of which are attached to the bottom of a coal basket N suspended 011 the hook. Enough slack is left in these ropes to allow for the hook working to release the sling of the basket, and then when the lifting rope F is raised, for the ropes to turn the basket up and to raise it with the hook, the basket being suspended bottom up, from the eyes K. Thus the device constructed and fitted in this way may be used to lower a basket of coal or other commodities, on to any desired point, then to tip the basket up to discharge its contents, and then to raise the basket and return it to the point at which it is to be refilled, all without any handling at the discharging pointand merely by the operations of the winch or other appliance actuating the lifting rope.

I claim 1. A sling hook formed by a frame member adapted to be suspended from a rope, constructed with a slot extending vertically upward from its bottom end, in the line of the suspension rope, a hook member pivoted upon the, face of such frame member at a point vertically above the slot and adapted to swing transversely in with its free end across such slot or to swing out free of the slot, and having a weighted extension extending from the opposite side of its pivot and adapted to normally swing the hook clear of the slot in the frame member, and a cord attached at its respective ends to the weighted arm and to the suspension rope,

substantially as and for the purposes speci- 2. A sling hook formed by a frame member adapted to be suspended from a rope, constructed with a slot extending vertically upward from its bottom end, in the line of the suspension rope, a hook member pivoted upon the face of such frame member at a point vertically above the slot and adapted to swing transversely in with its free end across such slot or to swing out free of the slot, and having a weighted extension extending from the opposite side of its pivot and adapted to normally swing the hook clear of the slot in the frame member, and a pawl pivoted to the face of the frame member adapted to engage the lock with the hook member.

3. A sling hook formed by a frame member adapted to be suspended from a rope, constructed with a slot extending vertically upward from its bottom end, in the line of the suspension rope, a hook member pivoted upon the face of such frame member at a point vertically above the slot and adapted to swing transversely in which its free end across such slot or to swing out free of the slot, and having a weighted extension extending from the opposite side of its pivot and adapted to normally swing the hook clear of the slot in the frame member, and an eye fixed upon each side of the frame member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM JAMES OLIVER.

Witnesses M. TAVENDALE, W. ALEXANDER. 

